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Joker's Millions
Joker's Millions is the seventh episode of . It first aired on February 21, 1998. Plot The Joker and Harley Quinn flee a botched attempt at a robbery, pursued by Batman and Batgirl. Joker's money problems come up constantly during the battle, as they cannot afford ammo for their gun, acid for Joker's boutonniere, gas for the getaway car, or more than a single ejector seat, which Joker uses to escape, ditching Harley to be caught and returned to Arkham Asylum. Joker retreats to his low-income apartment and gets a sudden burst of glee when he reads a letter revealing that one of his criminal enemies, Edward "King" Barlowe, has passed away and left a staggering fortune of $250 million to him. The first thing Joker does with his money is assemble a team of shady lawyers and psychological experts who are able to erase Joker's criminal records and have him declared sane. Batgirl suggests that Joker may give up crime now that he's rich, but Batman doesn't even have to speak—she takes the hint and agrees to keep an eye on him. Dick Grayson and Barbara Gordon crash a "going legit" party being thrown for the Joker at the Penguin's Iceberg Lounge. To their chagrin, they wind up saving Joker when a disgruntled former bodyguard of Barlowe attempts to kill him. Laughing at the thought that Batman's "family" can't touch him now, Joker continues to enjoy his new wealth: purchasing a luxurious mansion, cruising through the city in an open-air limousine, scattering largesse to the people. At Arkham, Harley is confident that Joker will eventually set her free, only to be outraged when she learns that Joker is holding auditions for a new "henchgirl". She makes an escape from Arkham, using the laundry chute. The Joker soon hires a new hench-girl, whom he dubs "Fake Harley" though he regrets it after discovering she had a very annoying voice and laugh (and had a tendency to pronounce "Mr. J" as "Mr. G"). Problems soon arise for the Joker when he learns that he owes the Internal Revenue Service a large inheritance tax. When he opens his vault to gather the necessary cash, he finds that all of his remaining money is counterfeit. He also finds a videotape, on which Barlowe leaves a message from his deathbed, explaining that the inheritance was a scam to get Joker into exactly the fix in which he now finds himself: having to choose between going to jail for tax evasion, or else admitting that Barlowe fooled him, thus becoming a laughingstock in the underworld. Barlowe finishes by cackling that he had the last laugh on his old rival after all, causing Joker to shoot the television in rage before walking off. When attempting to decide upon a next course of action, Fake Harley didn't help his mood very much where, after asking if she had any ideas, she merely responded with "whatever you say, Mr. G" followed by an irritating laugh. This almost drove Joker in rage to shoot her in the head when her back was turned, although his right-hand man Ernie stopped him. The Joker decides to return to crime to rebuild his fortune, but commit normal ones so that no one suspects he is behind them. He therefore plans to steal a load of money from the Gotham Mint as it is transported by boat. So that no one will notice his absence, the Joker instructs one of his thugs to pose as him in the Iceberg Lounge, but Batman sees through the disguise and interrogates the thug until he reveals Joker's scheme. Batman, Batgirl, and Nightwing are able to successfully capture the Joker, Fake Harley and their goons, even though at one point Joker tries to commit suicide as an alternative to losing his money. In the paddywagon, Joker is ready to laugh off the whole fiasco, but he finds that the police officer supervising him is actually Harley in disguise, and she repays his disloyalty by beating him with a nightstick, much to his discomfort. Continuity * Joker's poverty, a result of Batman's success in shutting down his operations, was first referenced in , "World's Finest", when he comes to Metropolis and offers to kill Superman for Lex Luthor in exchange for a billion dollars. Thanks in large part to Batman's interference, Joker didn't get the job done. Joker's money problems appear to remain unresolved, and how he survived the Lexwing explosion is left unexplained. * Ernie suggests he pulls another scam similar to the one he did in the episode, "The Laughing Fish". * Bruce Wayne tests the fake Joker by referring to when the Joker pushed him off a building "last month". This event occurred in Part II of "World's Finest", when Joker kidnapped Lois Lane and had the billionaire tossed over the edge for laughs. * Joker's lawyer reappears in "Over the Edge". * This episode is the first (and only) time we learn the names of Joker and Harley's pet hyenas, "Bud and Lou." The hyenas are named after the classic comedy duo Bud Abbot and Lou Costello. Background information Home video releases * * Batman: The Complete Animated Series (DVD) * Best of Batman (DVD) Production notes * When the Joker blows up the TV set, the resulting explosion is reused footage from the scene of the episode, "World's Finest, Part III" where one Wayne/Lex T-7 blows up another droid. Trivia * The episode is directly based on the comic book story "Joker's Millions", first published in Detective Comics #180 in February 1952. * There are also some similarities with the 1985 film Brewster's Millions, including the mocking videotape message delivered to the main character (Richard Pryor) by his elderly benefactor (Hume Cronyn). "Brewster's Millions" was first published as a novel in 1902, and adapted to film in 1914 and 1921 (though the 1985 version remains the most well-known); it thus may have partially inspired the original comics story. * Joker must be entirely destitute: Small-caliber bullets (like the .22 rounds Joker's handgun uses) were pennies each at the time this episode was made, especially in the United States. Magazines, however, are much more expensive. Joker is seen ejecting one and leaving it at the scene. * This is Penguin's first appearance in ; his appearance, which at first was deliberately modeled after that of the freakish Danny DeVito version of the character in Batman Returns, is remade to be more of the normal, classic version of the character before that movie came out. It is also the first appearance of his Iceberg Lounge and kicks off Penguin's new gimmick in the series, where he wears the public facade of a legitimate businessman. * Harley's police officer costume resembles the one she wore during her first appearance in , "Joker's Favor". * The episode contains a musical montage of Joker enjoying his fortune. The music from this montage would be reused in a different montage in , "Superman's Pal". * The male candidate for replacement Harley is based on writer Paul Dini, although his voice more closely resembles the Freakazoid! character Fanboy. * The scene where Joker uses lawyers to buy his freedom is a satire of the O.J. Simpson murder case. One of the Joker's lawyers resembles Johnnie Cochran, one of Simpson's defense attorneys. The lawyer's statement, "If a man's filled with glee, that man must go free!" is a clear parody of Cochran's now-famous catchphrase regarding a glove; "If it does not fit, you must acquit!" This phrase was parodied twice more during the DCAU, in the episode "Over the Edge" and the episode "In Blackest Night". * In the comics, being declared insane is the only thing that saves Joker from the death penalty, which his crimes have merited many times over. Similarly, the insanity defense has worked for pretty much every "revolving door" Bat-villain in Arkham Asylum. His frustration with this system led Lyle Bolton to become the vigilante Lock-Up. Cast Uncredited appearances * Bud and Lou Quotes Category:A to Z Category:Comedic episodes Category:The New Batman Adventures episodes